The Benefits of a Clean Inbox

A simple way to kick-start the cleaning process is to ensure you route work-related emails to your work inbox and personal emails to your personal inbox. This practice is also a common cybersecurity practice because it helps to reduce the chance of spam and/or phishing emails making their way to your work inbox. 

Once you’ve routed your emails to the appropriate work or personal inbox, the next step is to take a look at your sent, saved, deleted, and junk inboxes, and clean out any unnecessary emails. If there are emails you want to keep for future reference, develop a clear and consistent naming mechanism (ex. 20231006_Article_The Benefits of a Clean Inbox_Krebs) and save or upload them in an appropriate organizational drive or intranet. This process helps to ensure others within your organization can access it, if needed.

It's important to note that the more emails you have, which includes emails in your inbox as well as other folders, it only makes it more difficult to find the one you need. By having a well-organized drive, you can more easily comply with internal record retention policies as well as search for information you need, and it helps to reduce unnecessary emails within your inbox.

Additional advantages to keeping your inbox clean include:

1. Improved Focus: A clean inbox helps you stay focused on essential tasks. When you’re not constantly distracted by irrelevant or outdated emails, you can concentrate better on your work and priorities.
2. Enhanced Productivity: A cluttered inbox can lead to missed deadlines and overlooked important messages. Regularly sorting and archiving emails ensures that you respond promptly to critical matters and stay on top of your commitments.
3. Security and Privacy: A cluttered inbox can make it easier to overlook phishing attempts or fraudulent emails. Keeping your inbox clean helps you identify suspicious messages more easily, enhancing your online security.
4. Optimized Storage: Email services often have storage limits. By decluttering your inbox, you can make the most of your available space and avoid unnecessary subscription fees.

As stated from the start, a clean inbox helps you work more efficiently. But email cleanliness also supports your entity’s cybersecurity efforts and reduces the need for increased cloud storage, which reduces your entity’s expense. Source

The Benefits of Saving Your Tax Refund

Filing your tax return may be not fun, but for millions of Americans, the task yields a tidy sum. If you’re one of the many taxpayers getting money back from the government—the average refund was $2,753 in 2023—steering those funds toward your savings is a sound move. With a little bit of planning, that inflow from Uncle Sam can be used to build financial security for you and your family. Experts generally recommend stashing between three to nine months’ worth of living expenses aside, but even a small amount will get you started toward having a financial cushion. 

Start Saving Towards a Specific Goal

If you’ve already stashed savings in an emergency fund, consider using your refund to pursue a long-term savings goal. With interest rates edging up, now is a great time to funnel money earmarked for a house down payment, new car, vacation, or other goal into a savings account that will grow over time. Putting your refund toward reaching a significant goal—or goals—can bring a more meaningful reward than the instant gratification of an impulse purchase.

Invest Your Tax Refund

Another idea is to invest your tax refund. Investing your tax refund offers a strategic path to financial stability by allocating funds into stocks, bonds, or retirement accounts. It fosters financial discipline, enhances financial literacy, and provides a safety net against unexpected expenses that life may throw your way. Overall, smartly investing your refund can significantly benefit your financial future and goals.

Fight the Urge to Splurge

While it can be tempting to use your refund toward a shopping spree or luxury vacation, there are good reasons to tamp down that urge. At a time when inflation has prices on goods, services, and travel at a relative high, you’ll pay top dollar for everything from airfare and hotels to home furnishings and entertainment. If you’ve been living on a tight budget and still want to treat yourself, there are ways to splurge responsibly. Experts suggest planning to spend 10%-25% of your refund toward leisure activities or a longed-for purchase and place the rest in savings. Limiting your reward spending will ensure that the bulk of your hard-earned money goes toward a purpose that will benefit you and your family for years to come.

Ways to Save Your Cash

What you plan to use your money for and when you’re likely to want to access it will factor into where to put your savings. For example, funds earmarked for an emergency should be relatively liquid or readily available when the need arises. When saving toward longer-term goals, however, it may make sense to trade less liquidity for a higher rate of return. If you are able to commit to setting $500 or more aside for a designated period of time, a certificate of deposit (CD) also may offer a higher rate of return while providing the same level of safety as a savings account. CD terms can range from six months to two, three, or even seven years, with longer-term commitments offering higher rates

Finally, once you’ve started your savings journey, it’s important to revisit your short- and long-term financial goals and progress toward them regularly. Your priorities may shift, or you may need to make adjustments to stay on track to reach your goals. With care and attention, using your tax refund wisely can be the first step of a savings journey that will put you in a better place financially. Source

7 Benefits of Direct Deposit

If you’re still getting paper paychecks, there are many benefits to having your paystubs automatically deposited into your bank account. In fact, 93% of employees have already enrolled in direct deposit because it makes their life simpler and their finances more streamlined. If you haven’t signed up yet, direct deposit is a way to electronically transfer money from one bank to another without having to receive a paper check, take the check to a bank or ATM, and wait for the money to clear. Direct deposit money moves between banks via a high-speed network called the Automated Clearing House, or ACH.

Most banks, including Fifth Third, offer direct deposit services for their checking account customers. Many employers prefer direct deposit because it saves them the time of issuing physical checks. But direct deposit isn’t just for paychecks. You can use it to receive Social Security checks, pensions, tax refunds, travel reimbursements, and many other types of payments. Gig workers can use direct deposit, too.

1. It’s Immediate

When you use direct deposit, the money shows up in your account on payday, ready for you to use.

2. It’s Convenient

With direct deposit, trips to the bank are a thing of the past, saving you valuable time. Even better, you don’t need to be at work to collect a paper check. If you were sick or on vacation on payday, you’d have to wait until you returned to work to get paid or ask someone to mail you the check, potentially incurring yet another delay. With direct deposit, you get paid no matter where you are.

3. It’s Safe and Secure

Despite how careful you are, there’s always the risk of losing, misplacing, or damaging a paper check and needing to wait until your employer stops payment and issues you a new check. Even worse, your paycheck could be stolen and cashed. While checks require a signature, it’s no guarantee against someone else cashing it if a bank teller or check-cashing employee doesn’t verify the identity of the person cashing the check. It would take time and effort to prove the theft before you would be able to get paid again.

4. It’s Easy to Set Up

Digital banking is here to stay, and direct deposit definitely falls within this super convenient way of banking. Typically, employers will ask you to fill out a form to set up direct deposit. You will have to provide your name, address, Social Security number, bank routing number, and account number. The bank routing number is the first set of numbers printed on the bottom left of your checks. Your account number is to the right on the bottom of the check. 

5. It Helps You Budget

Since your money is always deposited in your bank account on time, you never have to stress about having the funds available to pay your bills and expenses. You can even schedule your rent, gas bill, mobile device bill, or other payments to be deducted immediately after your paycheck hits your checking account. This supports your budget and avoids late fees, helping you reach your financial goals faster.

6. It Helps You Save Money

You can have your paycheck split into more than one account instead of going entirely into your checking account. For example, a portion can go into an emergency savings account, a down payment savings account, or a travel account. You don’t have to remember to transfer the money over, automatically putting into practice the old savings rule: Pay yourself first.

7. It’s Good for the Environment

You can shrink your carbon footprint by going paperless. Direct deposit eliminates paper waste for printing checks and the fuel needed to mail them, not to mention the gas used driving to the bank. With speed, security, and convenience, it’s easy to see why direct deposit has become such a popular way for people to get paid. It only takes a few minutes to set up to start reaping the benefits of direct deposit.

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Complimentary Bookkeeping Review

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If you’ve been meaning to take a closer look at your business finances but keep pushing it down the to-do list, now’s the perfect time. For a limited time, Powers Bookkeeping Service is offering a complimentary, personalized bookkeeping review to help you feel confident about your numbers and your next steps.

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Whether you're behind, unsure, or simply want a second opinion, we're here to support your success.

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Happy 4th of July!

 

Happy 4th of July from us at Powers Bookkeeping Service, Inc. to all of you! 

We hope you have a special holiday weekend! Stay safe! 

(916) 302-9153

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Challenges in Global Payroll Compliance

Modern payroll operations face increasingly complex challenges as work environments evolve and regulations multiply. Here are the primary obstacles organizations encounter:

• Regulatory landscape. The constant evolution of payroll regulations demands continuous attention, from changing tax laws to shifting compliance standards. Each jurisdiction has unique requirements that create a complex web of obligations that organizations must navigate.
• Distributed Workforce. The rise of hybrid and remote work models has transformed traditional payroll operations. Organizations now manage employees across multiple tax jurisdictions, time zones, and labor law frameworks while adhering to location-specific requirements for benefits and compensation.
• Employee classification. Proper worker classification remains a critical challenge. Misclassification affects tax withholdings, benefits eligibility, and labor law protections.
• Data management and technology. Organizations face significant challenges with payroll data accessibility and analysis. Technology integration issues create barriers to efficient operations, while outdated systems struggle to meet modern compliance requirements.
• Process inefficiency. Manual processes and fragmented workflows create significant compliance risks. Organizations frequently struggle with record-keeping accuracy, timely submissions, and maintaining consistent compliance standards across operations.

Global payroll compliance expands this scope exponentially, requiring organizations to handle multiple tax treaties, currency conversions, and country-specific labor laws. 

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